Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my favorite author and I have long dreamed of having her on my blog. When she published an interview with herself on Writers Space to celebrate the release of FIRST STAR I SEE TONIGHT

I wrote again, asking if I could use the interview. SEP's reply? "Go for it."

SEP: Am I mistaken? Didn't you say that NATURAL BORN CHARMER would be the last of your Chicago Stars books? But now, there's a new one?

SEP: Have you not yet figured out that I'm totally unreliable?

SEP: Well, yes, I do know that about you, so what happened? How did we get another Stars book?

SEP: Life. The changing of the seasons. The vastness of the universe.

SEP: Could you be a little more specific?

SEP: [Sigh] After setting HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS—

SEP: I loved that book!

SEP: You have excellent taste. Anyway...After setting HEROES ARE MY WEAKNESS on a remote island off the coast of Maine, I was ready to write a big city book. And big city to me means—
SEP: Chicago.

SEP: Stop interrupting. Yes, Chicago. I've wanted to write a heroine like Piper Dove for a long time—a woman who can shoot, is proficient at martial arts, and is trained in both offensive and defensive driving. All the things I can't do.
SEP: Not quite true. You're very good at offensive driving. Emphasis on the offen—

SEP: You're interrupting again....

SEP: You were saying?

SEP: Piper Dove is the owner of a brand-new detective agency. Her entire future depends on her first big assignment—follow Cooper Graham, the recently retired—and highly competitive—quarterback of the Chicago Stars.

SEP: Are you saying none of the Chicago Stars characters we've come to love will be appearing in FIRST STAR I SEE TONIGHT?

SEP: Wrong. You'll see Heath Champion again, from MATCH ME IF YOU CAN, as well as a few other familiar faces. But those characters' stories are complete in their own books.FIRST STAR I SEE TONIGHT requires NO ADVANCED READING! NONE!

SEP: You're assuming correctly. We'll be meeting a bevy of Middle Eastern princesses, a Pakistani servant girl yearning for freedom, a Chicago teenager who only wants to fit in, and an elderly neighbor demanding that Piper find her very dead husband.

Order right here—Unless, of course, you're an up-tight, humorless sourpuss. ☺ (If your budget is really tight, head for your local library. We love libraries.) AND...Come to see me on the FIRST STAR Book Tour! Best one yet!

Happy Reading,

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

See why I love her? This is from SEP's Website

He’s the former quarterback of the Chicago Stars football team.

She’s trying to make a success of her very own detective agency.

Her first job? Follow him.

Let’s just say it’s not going well.

Not well at all….

Piper Dove is a woman with a dream—to become the best detective in the
city of Chicago. First job? Trail former Chicago Stars quarterback, Cooper Graham. The problem? Graham’s spotted her, and he’s not happy.Which is why a great detective needs a first rate imagination. “The fact is . . . I’m your stalker. Not full-out barmy. Just . . . mildly unhinged.”

Piper soon finds herself working for Graham himself, although not as the bodyguard he refuses to admit he so desperately needs. Instead, he’s hired her to keep an eye on the employees at his exclusive new nightclub. But Coop’s life might be in danger, and Piper’s determined to protect him,
whether he wants it or not. (Hint: Not!) If only she weren’t also dealing with
a bevy of Middle Eastern princesses, a Pakistani servant girl yearning for freedom, a teenager who just wants to fit in, and an elderly neighbor demanding that Piper find her very dead husband.

And then there’s Cooper Graham, a legendary sports hero who always gets what he wants—even if what he wants just might be an intrepid detective
hell bent on proving she’s as tough as he is.

From the bustling streets of Chicago to a windswept lighthouse on Lake Superior to the glistening waters of Biscayne Bay, two people who can’t
stand to lose will test themselves and each other to discover what matters most.